The God You Thought You Knew by Alex McFarland

Author:Alex McFarland [McFarland, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012000, REL067030, Apologetics
ISBN: 9781441229250
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-08-31T00:00:00+00:00

“Heaven Sounds Like a Boring Place”

I’m always amazed when I hear someone say, “I don’t know if I really want to go to heaven when I die. It sounds pretty boring.” People who say this have clearly not understood the Bible’s description of the Christian’s eternal home.

First, Christians will be with the Lord. The apostle Paul said, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23). In 2 Corinthians 5:8 he wrote, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” He knew his eternal home would be far superior to his earthly life. First Thessalonians 4:17 explains that when this life is over, “We will be with the Lord forever.” There is no greater place to be than with the Creator and Savior for eternity.

Second, Christians will receive new bodies. For many, it is a blessing to know that they will have new bodies in heaven. Second Corinthians 5:1 teaches, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Evangelist Billy Graham said, “Heavenly rest will be so refreshing that we will never feel that exhaustion of mind and body we so frequently experience now. I’m really looking forward to that.”2

Third, heaven will be completely free from sin. In the new heaven, God promises, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” (Revelation 22:3). The frustrating temptations that pressure us each day in this life will no longer exist.

Fourth, there will be a perfect existence. Revelation 22:1–2 provides a glimpse of the new heaven that will serve as the ultimate resting place of all believers in Christ:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Fifth, Christians will be reunited with all of God’s people. One of the reasons I most anticipate heaven is the opportunity to be reunited with those who have died in Christ before me. I will enjoy heaven with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. I will meet David, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, Peter, Paul, and so many others I’ve read about in Scripture. I will meet the known as well as unknown saints from the centuries, from Augustine to Martin Luther, from the first missionaries to China to those who first translated the Scriptures to remote tribes in Papua New Guinea.

Personally, I’ll be looking forward to eternity with my believing family members who have passed on before me. We “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.